Ghosts
by sockospice
Summary: An investigation brings Mickey Webb back into contact with someone from his past. A lot has changed, for both of them. Mickey Webb/Carrie Morgan. Now complete.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Ghosts (prologue)

Rating: 13+

Content: angst, fluff, romance, more to be added as I go along

Disclaimer: Don't own any of the characters mentioned herein, they belong to ITV

Summary: An investigation brings Mickey Webb back into contact with someone he hasn't seen for a long time. A lot has changed, for both of them. (Mickey Webb/Carrie Morgan).

Author's note: It's het. Haven't written het in ages, so god knows what will happen with this one. I do love this pairing though. Haven't forgotten about the other stuff I'm currently writing, but I'm just going wherever the muses take me at the moment. Any opinions welcome.

"I'm DC Webb and this is DC Masters, we're here about an assault, robbery and possible kidnap?"

"Oh yes DC Webb, I'll call the manager, one moment please."

Mickey had a look around reception as a phone call was made, there was nothing out of the ordinary. People were sat drinking coffee or reading newspapers. Maybe they had no idea that there had been a vicious assault in one of the hotel rooms. Maybe they didn't care. Their own lives went on, as insignificant or significant or their actions may be.

"Mickey?"

"Carrie?" The smartly dressed young woman stood in front of him surprised Mickey, he hadn't seen her in a couple of years at least. "Good to see you. You've reported an assault and a kidnap?"

"Yeah, come on up to the room, I'll show you what happened." Carrie motioned to the lift and the detectives followed, an amused and slightly curious look on Jo's face.

"Jo, this is Carrie Morgan, Carrie, DC Masters," Mickey handled brief introductions as they walked to the crime scene.

Jo smiled, curiousity still writ large on her face. "So what's going on here?"

Carrie let them into a room at the end of the corridor, "the chambermaid went in this morning and found the place like this." There was blood all over the sheets on the bed, broken furniture and glass all over the room. "There's no sign of the bloke who had this room. One of the room service staff said that they saw him leaving earlier, he was with two other blokes and they were like holding him up. She just assumed he was drunk and thought nothing of it."

"You got CCTV?" Jo asked, brisk and ready to get to work, "we need to get forensics down here. What's the name of the man who booked this room?"

"James Robinson. I've already asked security to sort the CCTV tapes out for you, and reception have got all the details for the guest waiting for you downstairs," Carrie smiled a little, "do you need anything else?"

"That's great, cheers Carrie. We'll let you know if we need anything else, yeah?" Mickey's keen eye for detail scanned the room, looking for anything that might be a clue. "Right, lets see what's going on here."


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the review - yes, the premise to this is very similar to a scene in Escape The Silence. I got to thinking about that scenario and what if it went the other way. I certainly haven't given up on that fic though! This is pure wish fulfilment on my part and will be a fair bit fluffy (although with a dollop of angst - I can't do without it).

xXxXxXxXxXxX

The forensic team got to work on the room while Mickey and Jo returned to Sun Hill to try to find out more about their victim and who would want to kidnap him, and they knew they had to work quickly in the hope that he would turn up alive.

It was a frantic day but with a successful end, as the victim turned up in hospital after quite a beating, but with enough information about the people who kidnapped him to allow Mickey and Jo to join the dots and make arrests. The man had borrowed money from the wrong people and when he'd missed a payment they'd exacted their revenge in brutal fashion.

"So how did you know the hotel manager then Mickey?" They were sat in CID writing up the day's activities and Mickey knew that Jo had been dying to ask him that all day.

"She was a witness on a case I worked on a few years ago." Cagey, but not untruthful.

"Oh right, only you seemed to know her quite well."

"Yeah, she's been involved in a couple of investigations since then."

"Nice girl. She likes you."

"Eh? Don't be daft." Mickey turned away, finding the conversation a little too close for comfort. Carrie had kissed him, once. He'd turned her down, reluctantly.

"Trust me, she likes you."

The detective shook his head and concentrated on the report, wanting nothing more than to get it finished and get out of there for the day. As he left though, he found himself driving back to the City Rest hotel, ostensibly to inform them of the outcome of the investigation. He didn't think about his ulterior motives, as real as they were.

"Carrie Morgan please," he smiled as the receptionist batted her eyelids at him, but didn't register the interest.

"Mickey, welcome back." Carrie walked out of her office with a smile on her face, "I was hoping you'd pop back in. Want a drink?"

"Coffee'd be good," he followed her into the bar, taking a seat as she helped herself to a couple of drinks from the machine.

She sat down opposite and looked at Mickey curiously. He hadn't changed much over the last couple of years. "So is he ok, that guy?"

"He will be, we've charged a couple of people in relation to the offence, so the room is yours again. Might take a bit of cleaning up in there though," he laughed softly.

"Yeah, I'll get housekeeping and maintenance onto it, I'm glad he's ok."

"Thanks for all your help Carrie, it was really appreciated."

"No problem," she sat back, taking a sip of her coffee, "you're looking well Mickey, how's things going?"

"Not bad. You look like you're doing well for yourself. Manager now eh?" There was an awkwardness to the conversation not tempered by their shared history, but both tried to fight through it.

"Duty manager, but yeah, it's going well."

"I'm glad to see it, honest I am."

"How about you? Life treating you well? Still with.. what was her name, Mia?" The flash of jealousy across Carrie's face did not go unnoticed.

"Nah, that never worked out."

"That's a shame."

"How about you?"

"Nah, it never really works, you know?" History shadowed the conversation and meant that so much could remain unspoken.

"Tell me about it." He forced a laugh but she could tell.

They hadn't seen each other in years. Probably wouldn't again. A leap into the unknown was needed. "Fancy a proper drink Mickey? I know I could do with one."

She'd taken the leap. Did he dare jump after her? "Sure. Wanna go somewhere, maybe get something to eat?"

"That'd be nice. I'll just go and grab my stuff."

As he waited in the lobby Mickey wondered what the hell he was doing. Two years ago Jack had warned him not to get too close. It was different now though, he reasoned.

"Ready?"

He took a deep breath and nodded. This could be as easy or difficult as he wanted it to be.


	3. Chapter 3

"That was really nice," Mickey commented, referring to both the meal and the company. He'd found the conversation easy, as both of them ignored the things that had first given them that connection and concentrated on finding other common ground. He was slowly discovering that he and Carrie had more in common than Delaney – they both enjoyed the same types of music, both had concentrated on their jobs rather than relationships, both shared the same dry and occasionally wicked sense of humour. It had been comfortable rather than awkward, and Mickey was surprised by that.

"Yeah it was. I've really enjoyed tonight Mickey, we should do it again." Carrie wanted to see Mickey again, she was sure of that, but he'd always kept his distance from her, even through all the kindness and trust, so she didn't want to push things too far and make a fool of herself again.

"I'd like that. Tomorrow night?" He was a little nervous, he wouldn't deny that. After being accused of rape he'd promised himself no more one night stands. No more jumping into bed with someone the moment he met them. Sure, he'd known Carrie for ages, but that didn't mean it would be a good idea to rush things.

She smiled, "yeah, that'd be good."

"I'll drive you home." Idly Mickey reflected on another change – he wasn't drinking every night like he used to, he didn't need a drink and didn't miss it when he didn't have one.

"You don't have to."

"I want to," he paid the bill, despite Carrie's protestations that she would go halves, and escorted her to the car, driving more slowly than his usual impatient self would have done, just to prolong the evening.

Parking outside the address that Carrie had directed him to, Mickey looked up at the window of the flat Carrie had identified as hers.

"You can come in for coffee, if you like," she whispered nervously.

"I'd best not," disappointment was clear both in Mickey's voice and Carrie's face. "It's not that I don't want to..."

"I know." She smiled ruefully, leaning forward to press an opportunistic kiss to his cheek. "Good night Mickey. Will you call me tomorrow?"

"I will." Before she could leave the car, he spoke again, "Carrie?" Taking a chance he leaned in for a kiss, his hand on her neck, thumb stroking her cheek. The kiss broke, a smile crossing her face as Mickey took a deep breath, his restraint clearly faltering.

"Night Mickey," the car door finally opened and then slammed shut, and he watched until she was safely through her front door. Content, he drove off, the ten minute drive back home barely even registering. It had been a long time since something felt so comfortable, so safe.

He was still in a singularly good mood the next morning and Jo, as quick as ever, was keen to investigate the reason for this.

"Don't tell me you actually got a date with that hotel manager?" she teased.

"Might have," the smile revealed more than words ever could.

"Good for you. Though if you're going to be useless all day I'd suggest you make yourself scarce as the guv's on the warpath for last month's clean up figures," Jo shrugged, "we've got an assault on the Jasmine Allen which should keep us out of the office for at least a couple of hours."

"Sounds good to me." Last month's statistics weren't the only reason that Mickey wanted to avoid Jack Meadows. He knew that Jack would remember how he knew Carrie and would probably warn him against getting involved, and that was a lecture he really didn't want to hear.

As he heard Jack's voice from down the corridor, he grabbed his coat and quickly followed Jo out of the door, figuring a cross examination from her was preferable to a Meadows' lecture.

The cross examination started pretty much the moment he got into the car. "So where did you take her?"

"That little Italian place at the back of Canley High Street," Mickey had decided that he was going to go for truthful but short answers.

"Nice. And afterwards?"

"Afterwards I drove her home."

"And? Did you get invited in for coffee?"

"I did."

"And?" Jo rolled her eyes in frustration. It was like pulling teeth.

"And nothing. I'm meeting her again tonight."

"So a pretty girl makes it clear she likes you, invites you in for coffee, and you say no? Are you feeling alright Mickey?"

Mickey shook his head, in too much of a good mood to be annoyed by the questioning, "we've got history, me and Carrie, so we're taking it easy."

"History as in previous relationship history?"

"Nah. Just history." There was a firmness in his tone that warned Jo not to pry any further in that lne of questioning.

"So where are you taking her tonight then?"

"I hadn't thought of that actually. Gonna phone her in a bit and see what time she finishes work."

"Well well, Mickey Webb I do believe you might be blushing," the teasing was gentle but affectionate.

"Yeah yeah, whatever." They'd arrived at the scene of the assault by this point and Mickey was grateful by that point that the interrogation was over. He'd never been so relieved to see Callum Stone, someone who was unlikely to have any interest in his love life.

"So what have we got?"

"IC1 male, no id, taken quite a beating. He's been taken to St Hugh's, PC Brown is with him." Callum was as brisk and business-like as ever.

"Witnesses? CCTV?" Mickey checked out the scene quickly. It was an alleyway between two blocks of flats. He knew it was a short cut to the local off-licence for residents so it was likely that at least a few people must have walked past.

"PCs Roberts and Valentine are doing a door to door, they've already requested the CCTV."

"Nice one. Me and Jo will head up to St Hugh's, let us know if you've got anything, yeah?"

"Will do." Callum grinned, "oh and Mickey, who was that bird Nate saw you with last nght? Quite a looker from what he said."

As Jo tried to suppress hysterical laughter, Mickey just rolled his eyes. So much for being discreet and having any form of privacy in Sun Hill. He'd forgotten just what that was like.


	4. Chapter 4

"Carrie, it's Mickey," he cursed himself, the case had been more complex than he initially expected and he hadn't had chance to call her before mid afternoon.

"Mickey," he could hear the relief in her voice and cursed again, feeling like he'd let her down already. "I thought you'd forgotten about me."

"Never could do that, it's been so busy here though, I haven't had a chance to do anything else all day, I called as soon as I could."

"It's ok, I'm just glad you called."

"Still want to meet up tonight?"

"Definitely. I'm not gonna be finished here until about half eight though," Carrie sighed in frustration, "we've got a conference and I just need to check that everything is ok before I can finish."

"That's alright, I reckon this one could be a late one too."

"Want to meet for a drink about half nine then? How about that new place on the high street?"

"Zuma? Sounds good to me." Mickey looked up to see Jo motioning to him to hurry up, "I've got to go Carrie, see you later yeah?"

"I'm looking forward to it," Carrie let happiness enter her voice.

"Me too. See ya later darlin'."

No sooner had he hung up than Jo was on the case, "we need to get back to the nick, uniform have picked someone up for the assault." Mickey nodded, briskly following Jo back to the car. "Arranging another date for tonight were you?"

"Why is my love life of such interest to the station eh?" He grinned. "Who have uniform got in custody for this assault anyway?"

"Our victim's brother, believe it or not. Family eh? And never mind that, don't change the subject. Spill the beans."

"Yes I'm seeing her again tonight."

"Hallelujah."

There was a little more gentle teasing on the way back but again Mickey didn't really mind. He'd done his own fair share of ribbing people in his time, not least Jo who had a very active social life when work allowed and the mood took her. The gentle camaraderie the team had was slowly being built back up after all the recent changes, and that would probably be worth being the butt of a few jokes for, Mickey reasoned.

Now all that was needed was a successful interview and the day would be over. Avoiding Jack would also be a bonus for Mickey.

As if life ever went like that. First off the suspect gave a no comment interview, then the victim couldn't, or as Mickey suspected wouldn't, pick anyone out of a line up and had suddenly decided that he wanted to drop all charges. It wasn't exactly the recipe for a successful day. To top it all off, he bumped into Jack walking down the corridor and he demanded not only last month's clean up stats, but also to know who the mystery lady was that had the station talking. Both demands were things that Mickey really didn't want to answer.

"I'll have the stats to you by the end of tomorrow, I promise guv. And the girl? I'm off to meet her now." Mickey made to leave, "I'll tell you about her tomorrow, yeah?"

Jack accepted that and walked on to his office, at that moment contented that Mickey appeared happy. It had been a while.

Mickey continued on, rushing home so that he could quickly grab something to eat before leaving to meet Carrie. The butterflies in his stomach, it had been a while since he'd felt those, and as nice as it was it played havoc with the appetite. All he managed was a quick sandwich, an even quicker change of clothes, and another rush to the bar so that he got there before Carrie did. He didn't want her to be waiting around for him.

Waiting outside he checked his watch five or six times, rolling his eyes as he noticed a familiar face in the patrol car that kept going past the bar. Didn't they have any criminals to catch?

"Hey you," the voice was music to Mickey's ears.

"Hey," they kissed, softly, Mickey touching her cheek affectionately. "Did you have a good day?"

"Oh it was a long day, shall we get a drink?" Carrie flashed a smile, "I could really do with one."

"Lead the way." Mickey went to the bar while Carrie found them somewhere quiet to sit where they could talk.

The wait at the bar was frustratingly long, but eventually Mickey was able to take a bottle of wine and two glasses back to the table. He poured them both a drink and held his glass up, "cheers."

"Cheers," the glasses clinked.

It was as natural as it had been the night before. The conversation was engaging, light, unthreatening. For both of them if felt like the right place to be. By last orders it was now or never time.

"Your place isn't far from here is it?"

"No, it isn't."

"Shall we go back there?"

"Are you sure?"

"Mickey, these last two nights have been really good, but I think there's stuff we need to talk about. History. And I want to come back to yours. I want to talk to you properly, I want you to kiss me again." There was a shy cheekiness to her smile that meant that as much as he wanted to, Mickey could not argue with her request.

He sighed, "you're right." A knot of fear formed in his stomach, pushing the butterflies away. History was the one thing that could make all this go wrong. He reasoned with himself, better to deal with it now than further down the line. "Shall we walk or get a cab?"

"We'll walk. It's a nice night." Truth be told, Carrie was nervous too. However much Mickey already knew about her, she worried that actually talking about the history they shared might drive a wedge between them.

"Come on then," He wrapped an arm affectionately round her shoulder, and she returned the gesture with her slim arm around his waist. Slowly, both of them wanting to enjoy the peaceful moment before the storm clouds might hit, they walked along the high street in the direction of Mickey's home.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's note: pure wish fulfilment is this fic. I have a great desire to see Mickey happy for once.

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"It hasn't changed much since I was last here," Carrie noted as she sat on the sofa while Mickey fetched a couple of glasses and another bottle of wine.

Mickey shrugged, "don't spend much time here I guess. And when you're on your own... there's no point really."

"I know."

He poured the wine and sat back, wondering how else he could stall the inevitable turn that the conversation would take.

"Mickey, the last time I was here..." she stopped, remembering what had happened with Gavin Joseph and the circumstances that had led to that situation.

"We don't have to talk about this."

She took a deep breath and looked straight at him, blue eyes meeting her grey, "did you read the statement I gave about what Gavin did to me?" He nodded and she looked almost relieved, "in a way, that makes it easier. You know, when you start a relationship with someone and you talk about past relationships and stuff, it's bad enough having to say I was on the game, but telling them I was raped is a hundred times worse. At least... at least you know what happened to me."

Mickey bit his lip, unsure of what to say. He wanted to tell Carrie that none of it mattered, but that would be a lie. It did matter. It was a part of her and a part of their shared history.

She saw the conflict on his face and misjudged it, "I thought that you were ok with what I am, I'm sorry, I should go," the wine glass was abruptly placed on the coffee table and she made to stand up.

"Wait, Carrie it's not you," Mickey grabbed hold of her hand and looked up, eyes pleading for the chance to explain. Reluctantly she sat down, more of a distance between them. "I just don't know how to explain it. I want to tell you that it doesn't matter what you used to do, because it doesn't. And... I want to tell you that it doesn't matter that you were raped but I can't say that because I know it does matter, and it does change how I feel about you because it just makes me feel so guilty... because I couldn't stop you from having to go through that and because I know it's something that is with you every day of your life and I wish I could take that away from you but I can't."

She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, to stem the tears his words provoked, "what he did, it's like this thing that hangs around my neck, get too close to me and you'll see 'victim' tattoo'd on my heart."

"Survivor." The word slipped from Mickey's lips before he even realised. She looked at him in confusion. How did he know what to say, what she wanted to hear?

Mickey had known Carrie for years but she didn't know the one thing, the most important thing, the driving force which had brought him back to Sun Hill and into contact with the young woman. And he didn't have a clue as to how to tell her. He wanted her to know that he understood, but didn't know how.

"I wish I could be a survivor."

"You are. Carrie, I promise you. You've got so far, you've survived, you've made something of your life."

"What life?" she laughed bitterly. "I work, I go home, I sleep. I go back to work. I'm scared of getting too close to anyone in case they see what I truly am. This isn't a life."

"I see what you truly are."

"What am I then?"

"A survivor. A strong, beautiful, resourceful, brave..." He forced himself to look at her, and saw tears streaking her cheeks, "hey," he wiped her cheeks with his thumbs, cupping her head in his hands, "don't cry."

"I'm sorry," she sniffed, reminded of the last time she'd asked him why he cared.

"Shhhh, it's ok," Mickey sat back and prompted Carrie to cuddle up next to him. With his arms around her it felt comfortable, as if it was meant to be.

She closed her eyes, listening to the soothing sound of Mickey's heart beat. Slowly a smile crept across her face. "Remember when you brought me back here, when I had nowhere else to go. You were such a gentleman."

"Nah I wasn't." He felt uncomfortable but smiled nonetheless at the memory.

"You were." She moved to sit up slightly, still with Mickey's strong arms around her. "You got a takeaway, you slept on the sofa, made me a cup of tea in the morning." She sighed, "it meant so much to me, what you did."

Mickey wasn't sure whether he or Carrie initiated the kiss, but he tried to convey his feelings as best he could. The girl in his arms had got under his skin from the moment he'd met her. It hadn't just been because of how she'd helped with the Delaney case. There had been something about her, she was so independent, so strong, and yet so vulnerable. Each time their paths had crossed before though, had been the wrong time. There was always a barrier. This time there was nothing except what was in Mickey's head to stop things working.

"Why does this not feel weird?"

"How do you mean?" Mickey watched Carrie's reactions with a detective's eye.

"Every guy I've got close to, I've felt uncomfortable. Like I have to explain how I feel, why I am.. who I am. But with you..."

"Carrie..."

"How do you always know, Mickey?"

"Know what?"

"How it feels. No matter what happens to me, you're always there and you always make me feel like you understand what I've gone through."

He just stared at her, willing her to understand without him having to say the words. As realisation dawned on her face, he felt like he owed it to her to actually vocalise what had happened, "Martin Delaney... the man you helped us put away... I was trying to arrest him. He hit me, tied me up. He... he raped me."

She sat up, eyes wide with shock. "Mickey."

"So that's how I know." Carrie had put a small distance between herself and Mickey, and he felt the divide, deeply. He pulled his feet up onto the sofa and wrapped his arms around his knees.

"Mickey." She took his hand, enveloping it in her smaller hands, and he stared at her almost in surprise. "You know, once, when you said to me, that you understood more than I could ever know, I thought for a moment that... but then I thought it couldn't have, cos how could you be so strong, so together."

"I'm sorry." He stared at their entwined hands, hardly daring to meet her eyes.

Carrie leaned forward to place a chaste kiss on Mickey's forehead. He looked up then, meeting her gaze for the first time since his revelation. Seeing acceptance, he moved slightly to allow Carrie to cuddle up against him again, except this time she wrapped her arms around him too, the contact more comforting than any words could be.

"Thank you," Carrie whispered. "Thank you for trusting me."

"We're gonna be ok, me and you." Mickey closed his eyes and felt Carrie's breathing slow as she fell asleep, her head on his chest. They faced hurdles, for sure. They were both broken, inside. They had lived with fear and hurt for so long it was like a way of life. Nothing would be easy, but it was time for both of them to start living again.


	6. Chapter 6

Mickey would have been content to sit there all night with Carrie in his arms, watching her peaceful and contented sleep. However, cramp and the need to be in work for ten the next morning meant that at some point he'd have to move.

"Carrie," he whispered, "darlin'."

She opened her eyes, stretched and yawned, "mmmm?"

"Sorry, getting cramp in my leg." He smiled apologetically.

Waking up a little more, she realised the implications of the situation, and made a decision. "Come on, lets go to bed."

"You sure?"

She stood up and held out a hand in response. He took her hand and stood up, pulling her close and kissing her, slowly, deeply. She responded, her arms wrapped around him, slim body pressed against his.

Breathless, they stared at each other in joyful terror. They knew what was going to happen – it was something that could have happened years ago, that they'd both denied wanting for a long, long time.

And then they were kissing again. And everything felt right.

X

The not-so-dulcet tones of Chris Moyles were an unwelcome alarm call. Mickey moved only to slam his hand on the snooze button, the warm body entwined around his making the bed a far too nice prospect to leave.

"Mmmmm, don't have to get up yet do we?" Carrie mumbled into Mickey's chest.

He smiled, "we'll I'd be happy to stay here all day."

"Mmmmm," Carrie instinctively cuddled closer as her mind lost the fog of sleep and she remembered exactly where she was and who she was with. "Can we?"

"I'm on a ten six, and I'm guessing you should be working today too, otherwise yes." Mickey brushed Carrie's hair back from her face as she looked up at him, "you ok?"

"Yeah," and she was, she didn't feel the usual guilt, self-hate or anger. Just contentment. "You?"

"Yeah." He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Mickey liked that he didn't have to explain anything, that he could just feel contented and that Carrie would understand that.

They lay in silence and happiness until again interrupted by the radio alarm's unwelcome noise.

"We really should get up."

"Share a shower?" That was an offer that Mickey couldn't resist.

X

After dropping Carrie off at her place so that she could get changed and hopefully get to work on time, Mickey made his way to Sun Hill. He'd be early, but that was nothing really new for him in the last few years. On the drive in he thought about how best to reveal to Jack exactly who it was who'd captivated him recently. He knew what Jack's reaction would be, and in the pit of his stomach he knew there was a little bit of hypocrisy as he'd more or less forced Rachel Heath to break up with Jack because of her profession. He reasoned with himself though that Carrie had put everything in the past and she shouldn't be judged or compared to Rachel for that. He knew Jack would worry about him though. Despite both their protestations, they were like father and son.

He went straight to his desk to finish last month's crime returns, as that would give him an excuse to go and see Jack in his office. Despite what everyone suspected, he did keep up to date on his paperwork, so it was a simple task to collate the figures. It was with some trepidation that he knocked on the DCI's door.

"Yes?"

Mickey pushed the door open and seeing that Jack was on his own, went inside, "Guv? Got those crime returns you were after."

"Mickey, come in. Put them in that tray I'll have a look later," Jack motioned to his already overflowing in-tray. "You alright?"

Mickey couldn't help the smile that flashed across his face, "yeah, not bad."

"So who is she then?" Jack knew Mickey, and he knew that the contentedness in his demeanour the last few days wasn't just because he'd had a few good results at work. There had also been a fair few whispers around the canteen that he'd picked up on.

"Her name's Carrie, guv." Mickey took a deep breath, turning away from his boss and walking over to the window, "Carrie Morgan."

"I know that name." Jack frowned, "the tom who was a witness in the Delaney case? Mickey, please tell me you're joking." Jack stood up to stand next to Mickey, both staring out through the blinds at the streets of Sun Hill, seeing nothing of what went on as the world carried on its business.

"I ain't joking guv. She ain't working any more, she's a hotel manager, doing really well for herself."

"That's beside the point."

"No it ain't."

"She the one that stayed the night with you after her pimp beat her?"

"After he raped her guv," Mickey shook his head, "and yeah, I know it was a mistake back then but nothing happened."

"Mickey..." Jack sighed. The last thing he wanted was Mickey going back to the self destruct mode that had sent him into a downward spiral.

"Guv, I'm alright. I know what I'm doing."

"I hope so." Jack shook his head and walked back to his desk, sitting down and taking Mickey's crime returns from the top of his in-tray. "She certainly seems to be having a good effect on you, it's the first time I've ever had your returns so early." He knew that his opinion would make no difference to Mickey at the moment.

"Ha ha," Mickey was glad that the frosty atmosphere had dissipated, "speaking of which, I'll catch you later yeah?"

Mickey mused on the conversation on the way back to the office, it had gone slightly more smoothly than he expected. He knew he didn't have Jack's approval as yet, but his taciturn acceptance was more than he had anticipated. Jack's opinion meant a lot to him. He knew he could win Jack round, and more importantly, that Carrie would.

It had taken a long time for things to feel right. It had been worth the wait though. As a smile crossed his face, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Flipping it open, the text message received cemented his belief:

C ya at mine l8r? Will cook. Love ya x Carrie

Yes, life was going in the right direction at last.

~fin~

A/N: and that, for now, is that. Pure wish fulfilment on my part, I hope you've enjoyed it.


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